2010-08-26: The Research Phase
Summary: Car thieves and drug dealers just can't catch a break in the Bowery Location: The Bowery, Gotham City Participants: Batman, Huntress, Robin Rating: PG-13 for Violence and Some Language After proper rest and rehabilitation time, Batman and Robin begin their patrols again, this time sticking together rather than apart as they have been for the past few weeks. The current objective? Getting information about the Red Hood. Robin's bo-staff, and the locator inside, are still the best way to find the Hood, assuming he hasn't dropped off the weapon somewhere. But the Bat Family isn't in the business of running into things unaware. And so this is what is called the research phase: find out what you can about your opponent, before taking him on directly. And if you can bust some other crooks in the process, all the better. Tonight, the target is a chop-shop/drug packaging warehouse in the darkest corners of Gotham's Bowery, with a stone's throw of Crime Alley. Currently, a dozen crooks are collecting and packaging dope on the move from the infamous Gemini gang, named after the head of the family Edda "The Gemini" Durgo. In the rafters and watching the action down below, Batman gives his young protege the sign to hold for the time being. "You sure you're ready for action so soon?" he asks, cautiously. He feels hestitant to do this, only agreeing to put Robin back in the field because he has back-up. But the Teen Wonder had promised that he was fighting shape, and Batman needs all the help he can get right now... Crouched next to his mentor on the rafter, Robin the Teen Wonder, winces a bit as he shifts his weight to get a better vantage point. His eyes then shift to Batman when his health is questioned. "Yeah, I'm one hundred percent, Batman." He whispers the fib. He feels more like fifty percent. But the pain is better then the alternative. It's not that Robin didn't want to hang around in the Batcave all day and keep tabs on everyone. He loves working on the Batcomputer, but keeping everyone advised on intel is Oracles gig. And its not the constant pampering from Alfred. The man is only doing what he does best: Taking care of heroes. It's the fact that the Red Hood is out there somewhere and the young vigilante wants a piece of him. Even if he has to be in pain to do it. Batman nods his head solemnly before rustling in his utility belt. He isn't overly convinced that Robin is telling him the truth, be he also isn't going to press the issue, now when time is of the essense. He pulls out a small detonator. "Alright, we're going to have thirty seconds before the back-up generator gets humming," he whispers softly. "Night vision on my mark. 3...2...1. Mark." He pushes the detonator in the same moment that he activates the sonar-vision lenses in his hood. The detonator sets off the low-impact explosive gel he already had set on the primary fuse-box outside, giving him the lay of the land below while the lights in the warehouse shut down. "Go," he whispers, before jumping out of the rafters himself, his cape stiffening and giving him some gliding to sway downwards. The crooks, for their part, are appropriately freaking out, with several breaking out handguns and pointing them at the sky. "Its the Goddamn Batman, I just know it," the lead thug growls, with a few of his lackies voicing their concurrance with this analysis. With a nod he Robin readies himself for the standard stealth attack their known for. As soon as the lights go out the Starlite kicks on and Robin, much like Batman, is on the move. He leaps from the rafter with a somersault, something he'll pay for later, before letting his cape take over the descent. As soon as his feet touch the floor he looks around for Batman. Robin needs to stay close just in case the pain gets too much for him. Robin will find Batman a few yards away, moving quickly to choke out one guard, while keeping a hand over his mouth before moving on to two more, breaking out a pair of short, handled escrima-style fighting sticks that he borrowed from Nightwing--perhaps call them BATons--which are used to trip up two more baddies before driving his fists into their chest, knocking the wind out of them. Unfortunately, they make enough noise to draw attention, causing the crooks to start firing their guns in his general direction, causing Batman to start a strafing run away from his current location, drawing the fire away from Robin. Three down, nine to go. Make that five to go. Because two of them suddenly let out high pitched yelps and fall to the ground clutching their crotches. At their feet are blunt-headed crossbow bolts. It doesn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out where the bolts hit. And another goes down when an caped figure dislocated his shoulder by landing feet-first on the joint with high heeled boots. Cruuuunch! "Pity for them I've been jonesing for some maiming." Huntress grunts, having been shadowing the Bat since shortly before he blew the power, before lashing out with her crossbow and breaking the nose of ganger number four. Huntress has on a pair of night vision goggles. The goggles, they do something. At the appearance of the crotch-hating Huntress, the crooks attention is split in two, with fires starting to be shot in every direction as it is clear that the Batman didn't come alone. A pair of batarangs are pulled out of Batmans utility belt, then tossed at two gun-crazy bad guys, knocking them out cold as he moves towards another, disarming his from behind before judo-tossing him towards a friend. The tossed it knocked out by the throw, while the tossed-at is merely knocked down and unarmed. Unfortunately, the good guys advantage is about to be lessened, as a loud click is heard and then the back-up generator begins to roar to life, causing the lights in the warehouse to slowly start to come up; the area will be fully lit in a matter of seconds. "Get your little bird-friend to cut the backup generator, Batman." Huntress 'suggests', even as she blocks a punch thrown at her and retaliates by kicking his knee in and then bringing her knee up to knock him out cold. Her style is Sicilian.. One practiced by mafia assassins in the Old Country. Batman may or may not recognize it, being a very obscure school of hand to hand. Being all assassin'y and stuff. It is not one that involves very much fair fighting, apparently, but that might just be the Huntress' take on it. She aims her crossbow at a lightbulb and fires on it. "Robin, listen to Huntress," Batman barks as he continues to move swiftly. With one downed opponent and only one standing, Batman isn't so distracted as to not notice the fighting style, recognizing the ruthlessness of it. As the final armed thug raises his AK to aim it at Huntress, he finds his line of fire distrupted as Batman reach out, grabbing the barrel of the gun and jamming it up intot he nose of the gunman. The blow seems him staggering, grabbing at his face as Batman roundhouse kicks him in the chest, knocking the air out of him. "Huntress, you have any zip-ties?" he asks, indicating the down and out opponents as he reaches down to pick up the one thug who has remained concious (mostly due to Batman's good graces,) and slams him against the side of a pillar. "What do you know about the Red Hood?" he asks gruffly. The drug dealer looks confused for a second, before spitting up blood in the Dark Knight's face. "I'll tell you what I know, he's replaced you as the number one enemy of The Gemini. You just delay things, he ends people. Your a nuisance compared to him being a fucking problem." The thug shakes his head. "You been outclassed, Bats. And word on the street is he even beat up your little sidekick." The taunting causes Batman to narrow his eyes, tossing the thug to the ground. He pulls out one of his batons again, raising it in the air, clearly ready to beat the man within an inch of his life. Its been a bad week. Except that there's a hand grasping his wrist from behind. "Don't." Huntress says firmly. "I know the anger that's inside you. It's the same anger I felt when I slit a man's throat. If you hit him now, you won't stop." And to make the whole exchange a moot point, Huntress gives the man a kick in the ribs, fracturing one or two and knocking the air out of his lungs. She then releases Batman. "Yes, I've got zip ties. Did you know you can get a pack of 100 for a dollar at Lowe's, just the right size and strength for tying people up?" Batman blinks as he feels himself stopped from beating the man, turnimg to glance towards Huntress. He frowns slightly, catching himself and nodding his head. "That...is a good point," is all he'll offer as he starts to make his way around to help subdue the remaining members of the gang. As he does, he offers, "You can, if you want to get the cheap kind. The WayneTech version are better. A bit more expensive, but the difference is worth it." Hey, might as well get a faithful customer for his day job. "Thank you...for the assist and...perspective." When Robin returns from his little mission to take out the back up power. He comes back only to find all the goons out cold. With a sigh, which can either perceived as disappointment or relief, the teen makes his way over to the side of the Batman. He doesn't say anything once he finds his position next to his mentor. Instead he just listens and takes in what exactly is going on. After seizing up the final goon in his area of the pile, Batman glances towards Huntress with a slight scowl. He contemplates defending Wayne, but also recognizes that could cast a certain amount of suspicion on his identity, something he's not ready to tell this woman...at least, not yet. "I try to buy the best products, despite their source," is what he offers instead, turning his glance towards Robin as he approaches. "Don't know if you two have met," he says before glancing back towards the purple-and-black ally. "But this Huntress, she is assisting us in the Red Hood case." Which may or may not be news to her. "Huntress, this is Robin...the current Robin." "Hello, Robin." Huntress dutifully says, even as she begins to pick up crossbow bolts and either puts them back in the quiver or stowes them in a pouch depending on the state of the head. "I hope you don't mind me tailing you. I've been watching the various families for the last couple of days, hoping for some leads. Honestly, though, I expect that the Red Hood's next move is going to be very public. I'd suggest surveillence on Ms. Kyle's charity gala. If I were in his shoes, I would arrange for one of the families to send people to crash the party just so I could take them down in front of news cameras." She glances at Batman, giving him an once-over. "Preferably while dressed as you." The young man smiles at Huntress and offers her a nod in greeting. Nice to meet you. He's definitely nothing like Batman when it comes to the pleasantries. With the greeting out of the way, Robin goes to work. Pulling out a small device no bigger then a i-phone. The young man steps over to the nearest goon and crouches down beside him. He holds the device over the mans face and takes a snap shot. He then grabs the mans hand and starts pressing his fingers on the screen. Once he's done he moves onto the next and then the next. Robin's checking of the individuals picks up mostly career criminals, with the two exceptions being two that have Gotham driver's licenses, but no criminal record to speak of. Both are under 20-years old, however; plenty of time to become recidivists. "If you don't mind, Huntress," Batman says cooly. "I may call this in to my friends in the police department, and continue our patrol. We have...more investigating to do." It's not long till Robin finishes filing the last thug. He's definitely slowing down due his constant movement, which could be aggravating his recent injuries. All collected Batman. he says as he steps up beside the Dark Knight. "I'll start sending the mugs and prints to Oracle once were on the road." he says as he slips the device back into his utility belt. "Just give me enough time to get out of here." Huntress hesitates. "I'll keep an eye at the gala too, although I might have other obligations that prevent me from going." And she clips a grappling hook to her crossbow, firing it at an upper window and begins the climb outta here. A brief nod is offered to Huntress. "See you there then," Batman says before looking to his partner. "Good work, Robin. Now lets get back to the Batmobile, and hope that Bryantown isn't burning before we get there. We'll call Commissioner Gordon on the way." With that, Batman stalks off in the opposite direction from Huntress, giving her ample time to make her getaway. Category:Logs